Procecutions over Croydon tram crash

[talltim]

The Guardian reports that the TFL, the Croydon Tramlink operator Tram Operations Limited and the driver are being prosecuted over the tram crash in 2016

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has said it will prosecute Transport for London and the driver who crashed a tram in Croydon in 2016 for alleged health and safety failings.

If the prosecution is successful, it would overturn a jury verdict in an inquest in July that determined the crash was accidental, which was met with fury from the victims’ families. The tragedy is considered the worst to have occurred on a British tramway for more than 90 years.

The ORR said it had “made a fair, independent and objective assessment about what happened” and that the prosecution would enable a court to consider whether health and safety laws were breached.

Driver, operator and TfL face prosecution over Croydon tram crash

Office of Rail and Road to bring health and safety case after inquest jury found 2016 crash was accidental

www.theguardian.com

 

[Backroom_boy]

The unspoken implication in the reports suggest that driving a tram is more soporific than driving a bus or a train; any evidence for this?

 

[43066]

The Guardian reports that the TFL, the Croydon Tramlink operator Tram Operations Limited and the driver are being prosecuted over the tram crash in 2016

Driver, operator and TfL face prosecution over Croydon tram crash

Office of Rail and Road to bring health and safety case after inquest jury found 2016 crash was accidental

www.theguardian.com

Good to see TfL and the operator are being prosecuted.

Somewhat disappointing they’ve taken the decision to scapegoat the driver who is accepted to have suffered an involuntary microsleep, due to a fatiguing roster, with the culture of Tramlink preventing anyone from speaking out against this.

From the previous verdict there was also no evidence the driver had been in any way reckless in terms of rest patterns and had gone to bed at a reasonable time the night before. Unfortunately the nature of this kind of shift work is such that it messes up the body clock and anyone working such shift patterns will often find themselves very tired when at work, despite doing their best to sleep the night before.

Frankly anyone blaming him (including the relatives looking for blood) misses the bigger picture of who is really responsible.

 

[harz99]

@43066 I really cannot see any way that the Tram Driver involved could not be prosecuted if others above him are being prosecuted as they are all part of the same incident, and please stop with the emotive language - it helps no-one. Until guilty or not guilty verdicts are passed nothing more needs saying!

 

[Ken H]

One would hope the defence would point to the protections given to mainline train drivers that are denied tram drivers, especially when the tram is on a converted rail line away from streets, when it is effectively a railway.

 

[43066]

@43066 I really cannot see any way that the Tram Driver involved could not be prosecuted if others above him are being prosecuted as they are all part of the same incident, and please stop with the emotive language - it helps no-one. Until guilty or not guilty verdicts are passed nothing more needs saying!

My first paragraph covers your first point and I haven’t used emotive language.

This guy just did what ever train and tram driver around the country has done countless times, namely been at work while tired. He was just (very) unlucky, with tragic consequences. Frankly if you haven’t done this kind of shift work you have no idea.

 

[AlterEgo]

I hate to be that guy but now that charges have been laid and proceedings are live we should be very careful not to say anything that could be in contempt of court. Importantly this includes whether you think any of the parties are guilty or not.

 

[43066]

I hate to be that guy but now that charges have been laid and proceedings are live we should be very careful not to say anything that could be in contempt of court. Importantly this includes whether you think any of the parties are guilty or not.

Appreciate it’s a fine line but we should be okay to discuss the decision to prosecute in light of the publicly available inquest verdict, so long as we don’t stray into actually pre empting the verdict of the forthcoming criminal cases.

Perhaps one for the mods do decide whether to leave the thread open.

 

[AlterEgo]

Appreciate it’s a fine line but we should be okay to discuss the decision to prosecute in light of the publicly available inquest verdict, so long as we don’t stray into actually pre empting the verdict of the forthcoming criminal case.

Perhaps one for the mods do decide whether to leave the thread open.

I’ll report the thread as a precaution in case they want to leave a warning, but given the very specific nature of this forum and the very specific nature of the offences I think there’s a better than zero chance of someone connecting to the case reading this here. Last thing we want is anyone here getting into trouble.

 

[43066]

I’ll report the thread as a precaution in case they want to leave a warning, but given the very specific nature of this forum and the very specific nature of the offences I think there’s a better than zero chance of someone connecting to the case reading this here. Last thing we want is anyone here getting into trouble.

A very fair point.

 

[ainsworth74]

Yes thanks for bringing it to our attention we'll lock it for now. Please do let us know via the report function when there are updates

 

[ainsworth74]

An update regarding this. TfL have indicated that they will be pleading guilty as have Tram Operations Limited, the driver has plead not guilty:

Croydon tram crash: TfL to admit to failings over fatal derailment​

Transport for London (TfL) has indicated it will plead guilty to health and safety failings over the Croydon tram crash.

Seven passengers died and 61 were injured when a tram derailed in south London on 9 November 2016.

Driver Alfred Dorris, 48, of Beckenham, also appeared at the hearing at Croydon Magistrates' Court.

He indicated a not guilty plea to an allegation of failing as an employee to take reasonable care of passengers.

The crash resulted in the deaths of Dane Chinnery, 19, Philip Logan, 52, Philip Seary, 57, Dorota Rynkiewicz, 35, and Robert Huxley, 63, all from New Addington, and Mark Smith, 35, and Donald Collett, 62, who were both from Croydon.

Nineteen of the 61 people hurt in the derailment suffered serious injuries.

A number of bereaved relatives were present in court for Friday's brief hearing.

Prosecutions against TfL, Mr Dorris and Tram Operations Limited (TOL) are being brought by regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

TOL also indicated it will plead guilty to health and safety failings.

District Judge Nigel Dean released Mr Dorris on unconditional bail ahead of the next hearing at Croydon Crown Court on 8 July.

Following the hearing, TfL said its indication of a guilty plea would enable court proceedings to "come to a conclusion as promptly as possible".

Andy Lord, TfL's chief operating officer, said: "The Sandilands tragedy will never be forgotten and our thoughts remain with everyone affected.

"We have worked closely with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) and the ORR since November 2016 to introduce a new safety regime and implement all the recommendations from the organisations across the tram network.

"This has made the network safer for everyone and we continue to work tirelessly to ensure that such a tragedy could never occur again."

Chief inspector of railways, Ian Prosser, explained the ORR had conducted an "extensive, detailed and thorough investigation" into the crash.

"The matter has now been sent to the Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing to case manage and list future hearings," he said.

As the matter is ongoing the thread will remain locked. Please do report this post however when there are further developments.

 

[ainsworth74]

A brief update but the trial has commenced of the tram driver:

Croydon tram crash driver asked survivor 'how did it happen?', jury told​

The man who was driving a tram that crashed in Croydon, killing seven people, asked a survivor "how did that happen?", a court has heard.

Alfred Dorris is on trial at the Old Bailey over the November 2016 crash.

Survivor Khublal Lochlan said he felt "severe turbulence" as the tram came off the track and the carriage went "pitch black", the court heard.

Mr Dorris, from Beckenham in south London, denies a charge of failing to take reasonable care at work.

The jury has heard how his tram derailed and overturned on a tight bend on the approach to Sandilands tram stop on the morning of 9 November 2016. The tram was travelling at more than three times the 20km/h (12.5mph) speed limit on that stretch of track.

Mr Lochlan had been aboard the tram on his usual morning commute to Putney for a shift as a bus driver.

In a statement read to the court on Monday, he said he believed the tram was going at a maximum speed when it entered a tunnel between Lloyd Park and Sandilands and he did not recall any braking.

He said: "I was immediately aware that we had been in a bad accident."

He recalled the tram driver swearing and saying: "How did that happen? Is anybody seriously injured?"

...

Croydon tram crash driver asked survivor 'how did it happen?', jury told

Alfred Dorris denies failing to take reasonable care over the crash in which seven people died.

www.bbc.co.uk

As the trial continues the thread will remain locked for the time being.